Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-03-31
HORSE TALK.

The 9ryslrg Nase Her Care and Feed-llt
Coll What to DO and What TO Avoid. Etc,
The breeding mare must be watched
closely in tho spring. More than any
other animal. unless il is the stallion,
she needs exercise. 10 is on this account
that the mare which works in the team.
uuless Oyerworked. always does we'll. She
may drop her .olt Ia the furrow with the
harness on, or in the stable at noontime
such cases have happened), and with a
rest of two or three uays She Will resume
her work and thelittle colt 90 well. There
ia danger of overlooking tue mare and
uuder-feeding the colt. When mare in
f0a, gets an the clover hay she wants, she
has the best food she can have, and no
grain is necessary. Whom she is fed
mostly on straw she requires bran or oats
TO make up the elements required to keep
up her vitality and 10 make the colt
,trOug. weak colt Is always a great
bother, and the chances are ten to one it
will die. The owner must look out and
see if the aare is going 30 have milk: for
if she does not there is dozen chances
20 one he viii lose the colt The fOal may
be very strong and active when the dam
has no milk, aud il may follow her around
for day or two without any food before
it will give up and become SO weak as not
to get up. II is not well for the mare to
have too much milk; this is often the
case with mares which have had several
colts When the milk begins TO run be-
fore the colt is born the mare should be
put on shorter pasture, so as to reduce
the supply of food. If the mare j. be-
Z 3d.
stopped. Il is better for the mare to be
in the field on grass when the colt is born,
and when this Is the case the field should
be one free from miry spots or the foal
may get stuck in them.
r0umy box stall is a good place for a
mare 9 be in al the time of foaliug The
blanket" In which the colt is encased Is
quite strong, and sometimes the little
toal is not able TO break it, and if the
mother does not do it with her tongue.
following the instinct Of licking the foal.
il will smother. II will always pay to be
on the watch when the foal is born, to
prevent accidents of this kind, and es-
pecially when the sire is OF larA n frame
than the dam. il does not ujure q mare
IN foal 20 work, unless the labor Is strain
ing or exhaustive, such as hard pulling
To Jog along the road is not hurtful. The
mare SHOULD not be in a field with other
horses or colts, as her instincts viii lead
her 10 try 70 keep away from them, and
in SO doing she may run so much as to
strain the muscles underneath the fBtus,
ana cause q rupture Of them and ruin her,
or it may cause abortion. kick on the
stomach Is liable TO be had, with conse-
quent dangers. Sometimes the mare will
not let the colt suck, and sometimes the
milk viii start 80 hard the little colt can
not get il. This is more likely TO occur
with the first colt 10 is always well 20
start the milk with the thumb and fore
finger ana be sure Of 10, and then TO
watch aud see III the colt swallows. There
are too many starved colts When the
mare works the colt should not suck her
when she Is hot. II 10 does, il viii be
stunbed and show it by its coat being
dead. The mare should never work hard
enough to get heated and If she Is thus
worked, she must be allowed to cool Off
before the colt sucks
4 certain amount OF fodder say fifteen
pounds per day, will keep a yearling colt
alive. and twenty pounds ope , years old.
Give each five pounds more oi hay aud
thes viii grow; the last five pounds will
make gain; the same rule VIII apply to
any stock It is the excess. Of food over
and above that required to make a live